What you should do before handing in an essay

Just when you think you are done writing your essay you may need to complete a few final touches that can make a difference. Some students are in a rush to turn in their work they may overlook mistakes that should have been corrected before submission. Overlooking errors can reduce the quality of your essay, make it more difficult for your reading audience to follow, and ultimately hurt your grade. When you plan to complete your essay you should also consider a few actions to complete afterwards before you turn it in for review.

Many students forget to check guidelines before submitting their work. You should check instructions to make sure your work meets expectations. This is giving yourself one last chance to make any changes so your work adheres to requirements. This includes every aspect from checking your thesis statement, formatting, and how your work is presented overall. Some instructors may want you to do something a little different to your essay than you normally would to see how well you follow directions.

You can read over your work to make sure it sounds well and flows consistently. Think about the message you want to get out to the reading audience. Do you feel you completed the task well enough or do you need to make changes? Check each paragraph to make sure your content is organized well and you provide enough evidence. Sentence and paragraph structure should be clear and each paragraph should transition clearly into the next. Logic explanation of detail is important so readers understand your concepts and ideas.

Your paper may have a few mistakes you are unaware of. Check word usage as some words that sound the same have different meanings. You want to make sure grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors are caught and corrected. You can work with a professional editor or proofreader if you do not have the time or skill to do this on your own. You can have someone you know read over your paper to ensure it reads well. Ask for suggestions how to improve your content. Try to review your paper from another perspective as if you are the reader.